Decorated electronically processed materials with the die pattern emphasized

ABSTRACT

AN ORNAMENTAL PLASTIC SHEET STRUCTURE. A PLASTIC SHEET WHICH HAS A SMOOTH EXTERIOR SURFACE OF A SELECTED UNIFORM COLOR HAS A SPECIFICALLY CONFIGURED PATTERN PORTION DEPRESSED OUT OF THE PLANE OF THE REMAINDER OF THE SHEET. THE DEPRESSED PATTERN PORTION MAY BE PROVIDED BY WAY OF ELECTRONIC EMBOSSING. A DECORATIVE COATING WHICH IS OF AN APPEARANCE AND COLOR DIFFERENT FROM THE SHEET COLOR COVERS THE SHEET REMAINDER ONLY, SO AS TO LEAVE THE DEPRESSED PATTERN PORTION WITH THE INITIAL SHEET COLOR EXPOSED THROUGH THE PLANE OF THE REMAINDER OF THE SHEET IN A VISUALLY PROMINENT MANNER.

Feb. 2, 1971 E. A. MAGID 3,560,321

DECORATED ELECTRONICALLY PROCESSED MATERIALS WITH THE DIE PATTERN EMPHASIZED Filed April 26, 1965 V I I I I I.

INVENTOR EUGENE/1. MIG/D United States Patent 01 dice 3,560,321 Patented Feb. 2, 1971 3,560,321 DECORATED ELECTRONICALLY PROCESSED MATERIALS WITH THE DIE PATTERN EMPHASIZED Eugene A. Magid, 1610 Cloverly Lane,

Rydal, Pa. 19046 Filed Apr. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 450,819 Int. Cl. B32b 3/00, 3/28 US. Cl. 161-119 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An ornamental plastic sheet structure. A plastic sheet which has a smooth exterior surface of a selected uniform color has a specifically configured pattern portion depressed out of the plane of the remainder of the sheet. The depressed pattern portion may be provided by way of electronic embossing. A decorative coating which is of an appearance and color different from the sheet color covers the sheet remainder only, so as to leave the depressed pattern portion with the initial sheet color exposed through the plane of the remainder of the sheet in a visually prominent manner.

This invention relates to ornamental sheeting, and is especially concerned with a uniquely decorative plastic sheeting of the electronically quilted or electronically embossed type.

While the provision of electronically quilted or electronically embossed sheeting having decorative material imprinted thereon is well known, the pattern of quilting or embossing on conventional sheeting of this type has heretofore been subordinate to printing or decorative coating applied to the sheeting. Thus, if pre-printed or pre-decorated sheeting were electronically quilted or electronically embossed, the pattern of quilting or embossing is obscure relative to the imprinted motifs or patterns.

In prior ornamentation of electronically quilted or electronically embossed plastic sheeting, the visually decorative effect of such quilting or embossing in the finished product was only that of surface contour or shadows, and subordinate to the imprinted design.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a uniquely ornamental quilted or embossed sheeting product wherein the electronic die pattern or quilting or embossing is visually predominant over any imprinted patterns or designs.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an ornamental sheeting product of the type described wherein the visual predominance of the electronic die lines of ornamental quilting or embossing are effec tively emphasized by the imprinted pattern or design.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a uniquely ornamental electronically quilted or electronically embossed sheeting product having the advantageous characteristics mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, which is adapted to be quickly, easily and economically produced by apparatus and equipment now employed in the plastic-sheet processing field.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

Sheeting as used herein is intended to mean a single or multi-ply web of material wherein at least one of the plies is thermoplastic.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view showing an electronically quilted sheet in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken generally along the line 22 of FIG. 1, greatly enlarged for clarity of understanding.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view showing a sheet of the present invention illustrating another pattern thereof.

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing a sheet of the present invention in still another pattern.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, a sheet of the present invention is there generally designated 10, and may be of electronically quilted construction, including top and bottom layers 11 and 12 of suitable plastic sheeting, and an intermediate layer 13 of relatively soft wadding or other suitable filler material.

The sheeting 10 may be embossed or quilted, by electronic means to form depressed portions 15 in any desired specific configuration or pattern. The wadding or other filler 13 is compressed to a substantially negligible 25 thickness in the depressed portions 15.

In this quilted condition, it will now be apparent that those portions of sheet 12 not depressed or embossed remain raised, as at 16, relative to the depressed portions 15. Stated otherwise, the portions 15 are depressed out 30 of the plane of the sheet 12, so that the undepressed or remaining sheet portions 16 are raised or relieved relative to the depressed portions.

In this condition, the quilted sheet 10 is passed between rollers (not shown), one being a backing roller or other surface, and the other being a printing roller for applying a coating of ink or other decorative material to the outer sheet layer 12. The spacing between the backing and printing rollers is such as to prevent compression of the sheet 12 between the rollers while assuring engagement of the raised sheet portion 16 with the printi-ng roller. That is, the outer sheet 12 passes generally tangentially to and in facing engagement with the printing roller, but under a pressure just sufiicient to kiss the printing roller. Under this condition, the printing medium is applied by the printing roller only to the raised portions 16, the depressed portions 15 remaining spaced from the printing roller and having no printing medium applied thereto. The printing medium or ink is thus indicated at 17 in FIG. 2, covering only the raised portions 16 and not the depressed portions .15. The sheet 12 has a smooth exterior surface the initial uniform color of which is visible at the depressed portions 15 which are situated in a given plane different from the plane of the raised portions 16, and the printing medium or ink which forms the coating covering the raised portions 16 retain the smoothness of the surface of the sheet 12.

In practice, the printing medium 17 is advantageously of a color different from the color of the outer sheet layer 12. The outer sheet layer 12 may be decorated in a solid or a patterned design, in one or more colors, leaving the electronically depressed lines or areas untouched, thus making the electronically depressed areas prominent in comparison to the remaining areas. By this means, the color of the outer sheet layer 12 is exposed at the depressed portions 15 in marked contrast to the exposed ink or coating 17 on the contiguous raised portions 16. Thus, in addition to the three-dimensional or shadow effect of a quilted pattern of pre-quilted sheeting, the sheet 10 presents the quilted pattern both by its shadow effect and by contrast to the applied coating 17. This effects the visual predominance of the electronic diequilted pattern (depressed areas 15) over the motif or design of the coating 17 to afford a unique and highly attractive appearance.

While the sheet has been illustrated and described as of a quilted construction, it is, of course, to be understood that the sheet 10 may include a single top sheet 12, Without the bottom sheet 11 and filler 13. In this case, the single sheet 12 would be considered as electronically embossed or debossed sheeting, rather than quilted sheeting.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, there is shown a sheet 10a having a pattern of depressed portions 15a and provided with a coating 17a which may substantially completely cover the sheet 10a, except for the depressed portions 15a. That is, the undepressed or remaining portions 16a of the sheet 1011 may be entirely or to a great extent covered by the coating 17a to leave the depressed portions 15a visually more pronounced, both by their surface contour and color contrast with the coating 17a.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, a sheet 10b is provided with depressed portions 15b in the configuration of rectangularly arranged bars and circles, with the sheet remainder 16b being raised relative to the depressed sheet portions. A coating or covering of printing ink or other suitable material 17b is applied to the raised remaining portions 16b, advantageously of a color contrasting with that of the uncoated, depressed portions 15b, Thus, the depressed portions 15b are visually predominant, both by their difference in surface contour with the sheet remainder 16b, and by the absence of coating material 17b on the depressed portions.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides a uniquely attractive plastic-sheeting product which fully accomplishes its intended objects and is well adapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture, use and esthetic requirements.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by Way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an ornamental sheeting of the type comprising a lamina of a thermoplastic plastic material to layer, a bottom layer and an intermediate layer of compressible material, the combination of (A) a specifically configured, predominant pattern portion,

(1) said pattern portion being depressed out of the plane of the said top layer,

(2) the remainder of said top layer remaining as a raised portion relative to the said pattern portion,

(a) the said intermediate layer being compressed to a substantially negligible thickness at the pattern portion; and

(B) a decorative coating applied only on the said raised portion of the top layer,

(1) said coating being of different color to that of the said top layer,

(2) said coating giving to the depressed portions visual predominance over the said decorative coating,

whereby the configured pattern portion provides the predominant pattern of the sheet.

2. The method of decorating electronically processed materials with the die pattern emphasized, including the steps of (A) preparing a multi-ply Web of material wherein at least the top ply is of thermoplastic plastic sheeting;

(B) embossing an electronic die pattern upon the said top thermoplastic sheet to provide a depressed, ornamental pattern,

( 1) said ornamental pattern being of the same color as the said top thermoplastic sheet; and

(C) applying a coating of decorative material over all undepressed reas of the said top thermoplastic sheet,

(1) said decorative material being applied with a printing roller,

(a) said printing roller being applied against the said raised portions of the top thermoplastic sheet under pressure just sufficient to coat the said raised portions,

(.1) said pressure being insufficient to apply decorative material to the said depressed areas of the thermoplastic sheet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,036,945 5/1962 ,Souza 161-119 3,198,688 8/1965 Yoder 161-97 2,318,702 5/1943 Millar 156-219 2,621,139 12/1952 Messing 161-120 2,660,217 11/1953 Lawson 161-119 3,060,610 10/1962 Stangl 161-119 MORRIS SUSSMAN, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

